That’s what MMA is all about! Daniel Cormier went toe-to-toe with Anderson Silva at ‘UFC 200’ on July 9 in a thrilling battle. Though DC had trained to battle his nemesis, Jon Jones, Anderson gave him quite a fight but it was Daniel who won the day by unanimous decision!

Though it’s not the fight that UFC fans were hoping for, Daniel and Anderson certainly delivered when they stepped into the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their July 9 bout was – in a word – epic, as both fighters, through blood, sweat and tears, wanted to do some serious damage to their opponent.

The pair sized each other up in the first round from the offset, keeping their distance. All until Daniel got Anderson on the ground and started throwing some punches to his head. Anderson just couldn’t handle his weight and he was desperately trying to fight his way out, but he couldn’t move and was being held down. But despite the flying elbows and punches, Anderson managed to survive the round.

In the second round, after a exchange of kicks and punches, DC managed to get his opponent on the ground again and had his entire weight on Anderson again. But he wasn’t making great strides and really beating the Brazilian up. Daniel’s superior grappling style showed why he’s the champ. The referee eventually pulled them apart, and they grappled without either fighter connecting with a deadly punch or kick.

Into round 3, and DC again took his opponent to the ground, much to the dismay of the crowd who unfairly began to boo. This was a fight of technique and skill, but they wanted a brutal knockout. And we weren’t to get it as the fight went to the distance, with DC edging it on a decision.

That was a pretty great match, considering it was made less than three days ago. Daniel and Jon Jones, 28, were supposed to clash in another war that would unite Daniel’s UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and Jon’s interim title. However, Jon got stung with an anti-doping violation on July 6. Jon was out and Dana White, 46, was left scrambling for a replacement.

Everyone volunteered — even UFC’s ultimate trash-talker, Conor McGregor, 27 — to step in and fight the Light Heavyweight champ. Ultimately, Dana picked Anderson, the former UFC Middleweight champion who held the title for 2,457 days. Anderson’s last fight was against Michael Bisping, 37, in Feb. 2016. While Anderson didn’t win the match, at least he was able to walk away – unlike when he infamously snapped his leg while fighting Chris Weidman, 32, in Dec. 2013